Alexandra Nelson was just 11 years old when peer pressure, a desire to be more popular in fifth grade and a bad decision led her to send racy photos of herself to a boy who was her classmate.

Because of a loophole in a Connecticut state law on sexting, she could have been prosecuted for a felony.

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Now, she is 21 years old and a college student. On Monday, Nelson asked state lawmakers to amend Connecticut’s sexting law to include pre-teenage children.

The state’s 2010 law made sexting by 13 to 17 year olds a Class A misdemeanor, punishable with up to a year in prison, though first time offenders are sent to a diversionary program.

The law, however, didn’t account for the possibility that even younger children would be involved in similar behavior. That oversight means 11 and 12 year olds who exchange nude photos could face felony charges for sharing and possessing child pornography.

“We don’t want to see kids with that behavior stigmatized by that development," said Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which hosted a public hearing on the proposed legislation, noting that cell phones are used by nearly all ages. “The world has changed so much since we were kids.”

Social suicide

“I was initially flattered, as he was very cute and I had a little bit of a crush on him,” Nelson recalled of the day in May 2007 when the boy asked her to send him a nude photo. After her mother intervened and took away the phone, a girlfriend found where her mother hid it and then goaded her.

“This friend of mine began taking pictures of me because I didn’t know what to do, for I was only 11 years old,” Nelson said. “I asked her to stop and she said it would be social suicide if I didn’t continue.”

Her mother filed a complaint, but no arrests resulted and Nelson recalled for state lawmakers.

The sexting incident led her to social isolation, failure in school and an eventual problem with alcohol.

“The boys never got their phones taken,” Nelson said. “Pictures were spread throughout my town. I was called a s---. I was bullied. I was unable to attend school. I was held back and I coped with these struggles in very unhealthy ways, which created collateral damage.”

A larger conversation

Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, said it’s important to clarify what the proposed bill would do.

“A 12-year-old ... under the current laws we have now, could be charged with a felony offense of possession and passing of child pornography,” Stafstrom said. “All this bill is trying to do is remove that floor.”

Leon Smith, an attorney for the Center for Children’s Advocacy, with offices in Hartford and Bridgeport, said parents are often shocked and surprised at their children’s behavior. Well over half of 12-year-olds have access to mobile phones and as many as one fifth might already be engaged in sexting. “That’s why passing this bill is so important," Smith said. “This seems to be a commonsense fix.”

In an interview, Smith said that while he doesn’t think any preteens have been subject to felony charges of sexting, keeping the law on the books makes such arrest and prosecution inevitable.

“We spend so much of our time our kids to put the devices down and I wonder if we need a larger conversation on whether kids should have devices at all," Tong said.